Table 1 Analysing Oromo folksongs* describing the bioecocultural heritage by music parameters
Parameters | Oromo folksongs | Remark |
|---|---|---|
Lyrics | More than one issue is addressed | With the exception to some of the folksongs, most of them describe various and more than one issues |
Vocal style | Less ornamental to ornamental | Sometimes melismatic or strophic forms exist |
Timber | Soft to less harsh | Occasionally strident and forced singing |
Performer arrangement | Responsorial-leader chorus alternation is the dominant one | At times chorus-chorus alternation style. Responsorial-leader chorus alternation of male songs is less often followed by acclamation of women group. Few Solo songs exist. |
Melody | Have a narrow range up to a fifth interval; melodies are patterned in descending and ascending order; 2 or three melodies are used | The melodic form of the folksong is strophic consisting of two to eight lines. The relationships among the lines do vary or are similar. Some of the folksongs have similar or different content. Most of the folk songs are monophonic and some are polyphonic (more than one melodic line). Most of the songs listed here for describing the bioecocultural heritages are sung without accompaniment of instruments and hence are predominantly vocal folksongs. |
Scale | Major; natural minor; pentatonic major | Most of the folksongs collected here are diatonic or pentatonic or prepentatonic |
Rhythm | Hard to identify; not a major element; 3/4 or 6/8 | The rhythm and metre are not similar throughout the folksongs described. Mostly they are non-metric as they are mostly vocal. The music has been described as primarily melodic with simple rhythmic accompaniments that can be similar or different. |
Song type | Both secular and sacred | Folksongs are impulsive creations which are not developed by artists in organized ways hence can have various foci. |
QƏñƏt* | TƏzƏta and Bati | Most of the folksongs are composed without notations. It might be the same composer or different who created both the words and the music. One of the major classes of the folksongs, the ballads are narrative songs for describing varieties which are identified by their texts. The instrumental folksongs commonly accompanied by drums in the region are used for dances. |